OK Cheap White Wine: Josef Drathen Bereich Bernkastel Riesling

The Scoop

Day 53. Wine 15.

Yes I am keenly aware that I grow ever more behind in maintaining a good flow to achieve my goal of 30 wines reviewed in 90 days. We’re only at the half way mark in number of reviews, and yet nearly 10 days past the half way mark for time. I foresee some kind of large, efficient event in my future, with numerous bottles… 🙂

Trying to maintain variety, today we re-entered the sweet space, but in a country I have not yet included: Germany. Here, it has been my experience that perhaps moreso than in other countries, price really does make a difference. Meaning: I had yet to find a surprisingly wonderful cheap German wine. You pay for the quality offerings… and – don’t get me wrong – they are very often worth it! But given this background, I was not hopeful I would find anything much better than Blue Nun for $15 or under. I was happily surprised with this one, which was quite OK.

In the glass, the colour was very pale straw. Some thicker legs in the glass upon swirling revealed that we were indeed in store for some residual sugar in this one.

On the nose, lemon, lime, peach, and, somewhat unexpectedly, wet stone. Minerality is not something that typically shows up in lower-end wines, which are often made from fruit off of younger vines (roots are not as deep) or less advantaged sites (not as well drained, or more fertile than ideal; vines love bad soil). That was a nice surprise. Of course, most of the vineyards in the Mosel region would be classified as “old vines” by Canadian standards at least!

On the palate, a rich floral fruitiness – cirtus, honeydew melon – with the expected sweetness that we anticipate from Mosel Rieslings. Good acidity brings it balance, though, so it’s very approachable. A short finish rounds it off: overall, not a stunning wine but not offensive, either.

Overall, as mentioned above, I was expecting a less enjoyable experience with this wine and it turned out OK. I had this with a beet and goat cheese salad. I would buy this wine again to pair with spicy Thai food, or a roast pork tenderloin.

Year: 2012

Region: Germany (Mosel)

Grapes: Riesling

Alcohol: 9.5%

Price: $12.99 at Everything Wine

Closure: Screwcap.

My rating (ratings are being done based on quality versus price, on scale of 0 to 5 stars): ★★★ Good value for a German wine. (But if you can afford it, go higher end; it’s worth it!)

The Music Match

Like today’s wine: sweet, but not insipid. I don’t know why I have always adored this silly tune…